Eragon (book)
Eragon is the first book in the Inheritance cycle, by Christopher Paolini. It was first self-published by the Paolini family in the summer of 2002, but was re-released by Alfred A. Knopf on August 26, 2003 and went on to become a ''New York Times'' bestseller for 151 weeks. Cover flap summary One Boy… One Dragon… A World of Adventure. When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands … Plot summary Eragon takes place in a land called Alagaësia, over which rules the evil, twisted king, Galbatorix. Galbatorix was once one of the legendary Dragon Riders - the long-gone peacekeepers of Alagaësia. After his first dragon was killed by Urgals, Galbatorix fell into madness, stole a new dragon, and betrayed and destroyed the Riders and their dragons with the help of thirteen other Riders called the Forsworn. Beginnings The book begins with a fifteen-year-old boy, Eragon, finding a mysterious blue stone in The Spine, an untamed range of mountains near the small village he calls home, Carvahall. He brings it to the butcher shop in Carvahall to sell in exchange for some meat. The butcher, Sloan, at first accepts the stone but refuses when he mentions the Spine. At that moment, the blacksmith, Horst, pays for the meat, and Eragon offers to work for him exchange. Eragon arrives at his home, a small farm, where his uncle, Garrow, awaits him. Garrow's sister, Selena, left the day her son, Eragon, was born; Eragon's father is unknown. Garrow has a son named Roran, who is about seventeen and also lives on the farm. Roran and Eragon are cousins, but see themselves more as brothers. Awakening Several weeks later, after a trip to Carvahall, Eragon witnesses a baby dragon, hatch from inside the "stone". Dragons are a species thought to be extinct, with the exception of Galbatorix's second dragon. He raises the dragon in secret, and names her Saphira. Then, Roran leaves for a neighboring village for a job, so he can afford to marry Sloan's daughter, Katrina. Two hooded figures, the evil Ra'zac, enter the town looking for Eragon's mysterious blue stone. Eragon and Saphira manage to escape danger due to Saphira kidnapping Eragon and hiding in the Spine, but Garrow is not as fortunate. The Ra'zac burned the farm and injured Garrow, and Saphira carried him and Eragon into the village. While unconscious, Eragon has a dream, possibly him going away like foretold in Angela's prophecy, The passage says: :"He watched as a group of people on proud horses approached a lonely river. Many had silver hair and carried tall lances. A strange, fair ship waited for them, shining under a bright moon. The figures slowly boarded the vessel; two of them, taller than the rest, walked arm in arm,. Their faces obscured by cowls, but he could tell that one was a woman. They stood on the deck of the ship and faced the shore. A man stood alone on the pebble beach, the only one who had not boarded the ship. He threw back his head and let out a long aching cry. As it faded, the ship glided down the river, without a breeze or oars, out into the flat, empty land. The vision clouded, but just before it disappeared, Eragon glimpsed two dragons in the sky." Garrow dies in Horst's house. A Journey Begins Eragon, enraged by his uncles death, takes it upon himself to track down and destroy the evil Ra'zac. Accompanied by Brom, a mysterious old story teller from his village who knows much about the Dragon Riders, swordfighting, magic, and gives Eragon a sword called Zar'roc, the trio reaches the village of Yazuac. All the villagers have been slaughtered by the fierce Urgals, whom Eragon accidentally kills using his first spell, and through the use of the Ancient Language. He destroys the Urgals using the true name for fire: Brisingr Lessons Brom teaches Eragon how to control his power. Eragon learns the ways of the Dragon Riders as they hunt down the elusive Ra'zac. Throughout the journey, he and Saphira develop closer relationships and bondage with each other. To find the Ra'zac, they go to a port city called Teirm, where they meet Brom's old friend, Jeod. A herbalist named Angela tells Eragon's fortune, and her companion, the werecat Solembum gives unusual advice. Much researching in Teirm leads Brom to the conclusion that the Ra'zac reside in Helgrind, a mysterious mountain with four peaks outside the city of Dras-Leona. A New Ally However, revenge is not what Eragon finds in Dras-Leona. He, Saphira, and Brom are instead lured into the Ra'zac's ambush. They are rescued by a mysterious stranger, Murtagh. Unfortunately, Brom is gravely injured, and he soon dies - but not before revealing his past to Eragon. He was once a Dragon Rider himself, but his dragon, also named Saphira, was destroyed in Galbatorix's reign of terror, and he became an agent of the Varden, the rebel state, killed a primary member of the forsworn; Morzan, and rescued one of the three unhatched dragon eggs from Galbatorix—Saphira's egg. Saphira's final gift to Brom was encasing his body in a diamond sandstone tomb. The new company of three (Eragon, Murtagh and Saphira) travel in search of the hidden Varden. On the way Eragon has many dreams about an elf, all of which feature her suffering great pain. Ultimately, Eragon is captured and imprisoned in the same prison as where the elf is being held captive. Murtagh and Saphira stage a daring rescue and Eragon escapes with the elf. But this does not happen without incident. Eragon and Murtagh have a face-off with the Shade, Durza, one of the most powerful creatures in the land. The fact that a Shade is walking freely in the land leads Eragon to believe that some monstrous plan is afoot and that Galbatorix, the king of Alagaësia, has allied himself with the foulest creatures in the land. To the Varden The new Dragon Rider faces many perils on his way to the Varden, specifically the army of Urgals at their heels. Eragon communicates with the elf through their minds, and finds out that her name is Arya and the way to the Varden. He also discovers that the Shade, Durza, poisoned Arya during her time in captivity. Only a special plant can save her, and it is located near the Varden's hideout in the mountains. In a matter of days, the elf, Arya, could die. Eragon, Saphira, and Murtagh race the clock to arrive at the Varden before the poison takes effect and kills Arya. Murtagh is forced to reveal that he is the son of Morzan, one of the dreaded Forsworn. Brom killed Morzan while stealing Saphira's egg from Galbatorix, and took his sword, the same sword he gave to Eragon. Murtagh's mother is also dead. Old and New friends Then they are rescued by Orik, a dwarf, and a bald man. Once inside the Varden's fortress, a hollow volcano called Farthen Dûr hidden deep within the Beor Mountains, Eragon learns of the pact between the dwarves, the elves and the Varden and how it was that Saphira's egg was magically teleported to the Spine. The group is at last able to rest, but the invasion by the army of Urgals is imminent. An intercepted message from Galbatorix confirms their fears that the king is involved. Murtagh is locked up by Ajihad, the leader of the Varden, as he is suspicious of Morzan's son. Orik is appointed Eragon and Saphira's guide. Eragon blesses a baby in the elves' magical language. Angela and Solembum come to Farthen Dûr. Arya is healed. The bald man and his twin brother search Eragons mind, for anything that would betray the Varden. Eragon meets many key people, like Hrothgar, king of the dwarves, and Ajihad's daughter, Nasuada. The Battle of Farthen Dûr Suddenly Urgals attack. Murtagh is allowed to fight. In a battle that follows, the seemingly endless army of Urgals are poised to take the fortress, before Eragon realizes that the Shade, Durza, that he recently encountered, is leading the army. Eragon kills Durza, but at a price: a terrible magically cursed wound on his back that leaves him disfigured, and a great Star Sapphire sacred to the dwarves, was destroyed by Arya and Saphira to distract the Shade. The Varden's forces oust the remaining Urgals. As the story ends at the close of the battle, we learn that Eragon will soon be sent under the tutelage of an elf called Togira Ikonoka in the sequel, Eldest. Different editions * Paperback Paolini International LLC, June 2002 * Hardcover Random House, August 26 2003 * Audio Casette Random House, August 26 2003 * Hardcover Gardeners Books, December 31 2003 * Audio CD Random House, Listening Library, February 24 2005 * Hardcover Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media, April 2005 * Paperback Knopf Book, April 26 2005 * Download: Microsoft Reader Random House, Date Unknown * Download: Abode Reader Random House, Date Unknown Publishers in other countries * Australia: Alfred A. Knopf * Brazil: ROCCO Jovens Leitores * Canada: Alfred A. Knopf * China: Unknown * Czech Republic: Fragment Publishing House * Denmark: Sesam * Greece * Finland: Tammi * France: Bayard Jeunesse * Germany: Random House/Blanvalet (Bertelsmann) * Holland: Publisher M * Indonesia: Gramedia Pustaka Utama * Italy: Fabbri Editors & Mondolibri * Japan: Random House Japan * Korea: Unknown * Latin America: Roca Editorial * New Zealand: Corgi/Random House * Poland: Mag Publishing Hosue * Portugal: Gailivro * Romana: Rao International Publishing Company * Spain: Roca Editorial * Sweden: Bonnier Carlsen * United Kingdom: Doubleday * United States: Paolini Intl, LLC (old) & Alfred A. Knopf (current) File:Eragon Sweden.jpg|Swedish edition File:Inheritance Japan E03V01 Eragon.jpg|Japanese edition File:Inheritance Japan E11V01 Eragon.jpg|Japanese edition File:Inheritance Japan E11V02 Eragon.jpg|Japanese edition File:Inheritance Japan E11V03 Eragon.jpg|Japanese edition 1.jpg|Vietname edition (part 1) 2.jpg|Vietnamese edition (part 2) Characters By order of appearance (beginning after the prelude): * Eragon: main character * Sloan: butcher of Carvahall * Horst: smith of Carvahall * Katrina: daughter of Sloan; girlfriend of Roran * Garrow: farmer of Carvahall, Eragon's uncle, raised him from birth * Roran: Eragon's cousin, although they're like brothers * Brom: storyteller of Carvahall, Eragon's mentor * Saphira: Eragon's dragon and best friend, raised by Eragon * Angela: powerful witch who supports Varden, tells Eragon his future * Jeod: merchant of Teirm, Brom's good friend * Solembum: werecat who lives with Angela, gives Eragon a prophecy and much advice * Murtagh: son of Morzan, who was a Forsworn (betrayer of the Dragon Riders); Becomes good friends with Eragon and travels with him to the Varden's hideout * Arya: guardian elf of the dragon's egg which Saphira hatched from; is saved by Eragon from the clutches of the King and Durza * Durza: once called Carsaib and disciple of a great sorcerer, he becomes a powerful Shade that ravages the land and controls the Urgal before being put to rest by Eragon * Orik: dwarf; nephew of dwarf king Hrothgar; befriends Eragon * The Twins: two magicians with strong magical abilities; powerful men within the Varden; cruel and strange with Eragon * Ajihad: ruler of the Varden, a kind and just man * Hrothgar: king of the dwarves, befriends Eragon List of chapters Inside the book There are a few parts of the inside book that may be publicized, including the two pieces of art, the dedication and an excerpt. Map of Alagaësia Dedication This book is dedicated to my mom, for showing me the magic in the world; to my dad, for revealing the man behind the curtain. And also to my sister, Angela, for helping me when I'm "blue". Excerpt from the publisher This is a copy of the excerpt. Click show to read its contents. The original excerpt may be found here. Movie A movie based on the novel was released on December 15, 2006 by 20th Century Fox. There are also copy's of Eragon with the movie characters on front Criticism Eragon has been the subject of much criticism, especially from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fans. Many claim that Paolini has copied events, places, people, and other things in his books from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or both. Paolini has also been criticized for his writing style, some saying he explains things in too much (unneeded) detail, while others say he is not a very competent writer. It has also been stated that events in the book are too unrealistic, which leads to the books being not as believable or enjoyable. For more information on the criticism of Eragon and the rest of the Inheritance cycle, please see the Criticism of the Inheritance Cycle page. Notably, a number of these complaints stem directly from elements in the first novel, but critical and fan reaction has generally improved in regard to later releases in the Inheritance Cycle. See also * Eldest * Brisingr * Inheritance * Timeline of Eragon * Pre-Eragon Timeline External links * Alagaesia.com, the official book site * Shurtugal.com - Fan site USA * Eragon1.net - Fan site CZ/SK * Shadeslayer.com - Fan site USA * Eragons.com - Fan site Spain * Saphira.pl - Fan site PL * Eragon.atw.hu - Fan site HU de:Buch 1 - Das Vermächtnis der Drachenreiter es:Eragon (libro) nl:Eragon (boek) pl:Eragon (książka) ru:Эрагон (роман) Category:Inheritance books Category:Inheritance cycle Category:Pages with collapsible boxes